Spaghetti and the Vatican

Wednesday. 0900h. My family and I were with a group we joined to attend the General Audience with the Pope. The group was led by an Italian tour guide who had just finished her defense of her study for her Phd and whose name I forgot, but whose tip I did not, until. What tip? "Don't eat in the restaurants around the Vatican, they're crap" the lady said in her thick Italian accent. How could I not believe her, she was a few weeks shy from getting her Phd. It was our last day in Vatican and in Rome. Yes, they are two countries, and this fact I knew beforehand and was not due to our tour guide. Last day and I wanted pasta. Specifically, authentic, Italian spaghetti. For the past 3 days in Rome and the Vatican, I only ate beef, bread, sushi, and risotto. Yes, sushi, sorry but I just had to. There was too much olive oil in town. I was saving pasta for the finale. The General Audience ended at 1200h and we are out of St. Peter's Square at 1230h. By this time, we were starving. Amidst the hunger, I was focused on my goal, authentic Italian spaghetti. Hunger got the best of me by this time and I settled for the nearest italian restaurant. I just scanned the menu for less than a minute. Just to make sure that they had Coke Zero. They had it and I ordered Spaghetti. I didn't say authentic Italian spaghetti, saving myself of being snapped by an authentic Italian waiter.

What a time to remember the tour guide's tip. The spaghetti looked appetizing, but there was nothing special soon I tasted it. Was it my poor untrained tongue or was it just what the tour guide suggested. The tour guide might have generalized the idea, but I might agree with her   on this one, not fully though, the thought of my having an untrained tongue still lingers on my mind. In general, the spaghetti didn't live up to my expectation.